


To Catch a Thief

by DorkWingsRise



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Aged up about 18, Multi, There are mystery elements so limited tagging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27930547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkWingsRise/pseuds/DorkWingsRise
Summary: A mysterious thief who looks ever so much like Chat Noir has been busy late at night on Paris rooftops.  Marinette is not amused and vows to get to the bottom of things.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Alya Césaire, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/??
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Breaking News, Breaking Hearts

The story broke on The Ladyblog.Footsteps on the rooftop;A forced window; A single lucky shot from a failing security camera: Chat Noir was a thief.Marinette scrolled through the story for the hundredth time.Read the interviews.Studied the ghostly shot of Chat Noir ducking out the window.It certainly looked like Chat.But was it?Something felt off, but Marinette was afraid that what was off was the feeling of her heart splintering.Why would Chat do this?He had alluded to vague problems at home.Could they be tied to this?Now more than ever, she regretted the firewall that they’d maintained between them.The Chat that she knew could never be a criminal.So this was either not Chat, or the Chat that she knew was a lie.

“Tikki, I refuse to believe this is him.Not without a lot more evidence, at least.Chat Noir has been my rock for 4 years.Something is up, and I am going to get to the bottom of it!Spots On!”

Immediately, Ladybug was racing across the Paris skyline, somersaulting between buildings above busy streets, swinging around tight corners at impossible speeds only to land feather-light outside a penthouse window of _Le Grand Paris_.She knocked on the glass only to be met by a glowering towel-clad woman.“Great timing, as usual, Ladybug,” Chloe growled.“You could have at least waited for my hair to dry!”

Ladybug sighed.“I wouldn’t have just popped up like this if it weren’t important.Here.Sit.Let me brush your hair out for you while we talk.”

Chloe pouted but handed Ladybug her brush.

“Do you want me to braid it for you?Your hair has gotten so long.”Ladybug sat on the couch, and Chloe sat on the floor between her legs. “100 strokes, right?”

Chloe gave a small nod, nearly purring as Ladybug began slowly brushing out her hair.

“So, Chloe, have you heard about this business with Chat Noir.”

“We both know that is crap, Ladybug.The only thing Chat is guilty of is being an idiot.”

“Uh, uh, uh!That isn’t our deal, Chloe.”

Chloe sighed.“Keep brushing, please.And, fine, Chat could take life more seriously.Is that better?”

Ladybug smiled. “Much better.So, seriously, have you seen anything?”

“You know that I tell you everything that I see.And so far nothing,”

“Sometimes, I worry that we are wasting you.I still wish that we could find a way to do this without destroying your reputation.”

“The remaining tatters of my reputation burned to the ground after Miracle Queen.Stop worrying.If running a spotlight on the roof helps us catch Hawkmoth, it is worth it.I just hope that when it goes down, I can break cover, transform, and get a few licks in myself.”

Ladybug bent forward and kissed Chloe’s cheek.“I feel like I don’t say this enough, but thank you.”

“You aren’t looking down my towel right now, are you?”

Ladybug laughed.“Like you’d mind if I did.”

Chloe let out a “humpht,” then asked, “I know that you can’t talk about your personal life, but do you even get to date?”

“I mean, I could, but there hasn’t been anyone on my radar for years.I grew out of my early crushes, and since then, I just haven’t felt any magic.What about you?”

“Word on the street is that I’m a maniac. What do you think?”

“Please, Chloe.You’ve fought for the city,and paid for the honor.People understand that.Besides, you are gorgeous.You can’t tell me that guys aren’t lining up to ask you out.”

“If they are, that line isn’t moving any time soon.I don’t know.I did have an entanglement New Year’s Eve.”

“Ooh!Tell, tell!”

“There’s not so much to tell.You know how the story goes.A weekend’s worth of champagne and frolicking and then back to the real world.”

“Wait.An entire weekend?”

“Well, technically, three days.”

“You can’t tell me that you—“

“Frolicked.”

“Frolicked for three days and then nothing!Who were you with?”

Chloe blushed to the roots of her hair.“Césaire.”

Ladybug stopped brushing, stopped everything as if she had just been hit over the head by something very dense and very heavy.”

“Hey, 100 strokes!”

The spell broke,and Ladybug resumed brushing.“You are telling me that you and Alya—“

“Frolicked.”

“Right.You frolicked for three days.”

“I can’t remember the last time I went three days without sleep.”

Now Ladybug’s ears were red.“So, why nothing after?”

“Without a lot of champagne in our blood, we pick at each other.”

Ladybug sighed.“You are too hot-headed for your own good.And I’m talking about you and Alya both, to be clear.I still can’t believe that those three days meant nothing.”

Chloe shrugged a single shoulder.“I don’t know.Maybe we aren’t at each other’s throats like we used to be.”

“You don’t feel anything?”

“I mean, if anyone messed with Alya, I’d cut them.”

“You’d cut them.”

Chloe bit her lip.

“Chloe, ask her out!Invite her over!Do something!”

“What if she says ‘no?’Besides,” Chloe paused to inspect her nails, “I can’t be seen in public with her.She wears those awful checked OW!”

“You stop saying horrible things, and I’ll stop pulling your hair.Deal?Besides, don’t try to tell me that Alya can’t clean up.What was she wearing on New Year’s Eve?”Of course, Ladybug knew exactly what Alya had worn.

“Black cocktail dress, off the shoulders, décolletage that words cannot capture: she was mind-meltingly beautiful.”

“Call.Her.”

“Fine.But I’m going to need extra brushing.I feel all out of sorts now.”

Ladybug laughed.“I can provide extra brushing, Princess.Just tell me how things go with Alya.And add Chat Noir to your surveillance protocol.If we are wrong about Chat, we need to know.And if some costumed troublemaker is causing trouble, then I want to put an end to it.”


	2. Cat got your tongue?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug has the thief! Or does the thief have Ladybug?

Ladybug dodged from shadow to shadow, slowly picking her way across the city.Chloe hadn’t sounded too sure on the call, but any dark figure on a nighttime rooftop was worth investigating.At the risk of being backlit, Ladybug hopped to a chimney top and sprawled flat in the filth. Two buildings over, she spotted her prey. _I guess I owe Chloe a nice present.Now for the real question: who is in that costume?_ Ladybug held deathly still and watched.Whoever it was, they moved like a ghost, flitting over and under and through what seemed an unusually cluttered rooftop. _Agile.Flexible.I don’t think enhanced, though._

Ladybug slid down the chimney and flung and sent her yoyo out away from her prey.She’d only have one shot, and trying to sneak in was too risky.The only real hope was to come in fast. She gathered speed as she circled the block and then disengaged her yoyo.Soaring high above the ground, purely ballistic now, she piked and tumbled to kill momentum, then landed in a crouch behind her quarry.“I think it’s time you and I had a chat, kitty.”

With slumping shoulders and a small sigh, the false Chat turned.“Well, this is awkward.” 

A woman’s voice.A woman’s body.Ladybug shook her head.“Care to tell me what you are doing?Aren’t there easier ways for a thief to operate than this?”

“I’m not actually a thief.I’ve never taken anything.”

“Then why the breaking and entering?”

“It was a lead.It didn’t pan out.I’m not sure that I can tell you anything more than that.”

“Can you tell the police more than that?Because that is your next stop.Can you at least tell me why you are dressed as Chat Noir?”

She laughed.“That is easy.Chat Noir has been on every rooftop in Paris at one time or another.I’m not even sure that he sleeps some nights.I find that to be a bit heart-breaking.”Not-Chat shrugged.“But it makes for good cover.Chat is also my favorite cosplay.It might sound silly, but that is part of it too.”

Ladybug studied her.She was leaner than Chat except for where she was curvier.Lean, but clearly strong.Gorgeous in her figure-hugging suit.Her cat’s ears were sewn on a blackout cap, which hid her hair.But her eyes gleamed on that dark roof.And the curve of her smile was hypnotic.

“Hey.Are you trying to see through my disguise with XRay vision or something?”

“N-no.I mean, I thought maybe I could get a better sense of the girl in the suite, but no real luck there.”

The seductive smile stretched into a full grin.“It felt a bit like you were staring at my lips.”She stepped in closer to Ladybug.“Were you staring at my lips?”She traced her fingers down Ladybug’s cheek, lifting her chin in a curled index finger beforekissing her.And then there was no rooftop, no night sky, no thief, no Ladybug.Just Marinette and impossibly warm lips.Soft lips.Marinette whimpered softly and pressed back into the kiss, shivering as teeth gently nibbled on her lower lip, panting as the kiss broke.

“You need to know, this was not all a ploy.Not even close.”Then not-Chatwas gone, running, vaulting, diving over the edge of the roof.Ladybug stood transfixed for a heartbeat, then raced to the roof’s edge, but there was only the fading whine of a zipline and the faint scent of _Il Pleur_ by Agreste.

“What the hell just happened?!”


	3. We are The Mundane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette receives an invitation that is as ominous as it is compelling. Will she attend? Will the mysterious Chat attend?

Marinette’s tea grew cold as she stared blankly at her laptop, her finger tracing her lower lip.For a moment, she was back on that rooftop, once again in that stranger’s arms.She shivered.“Tikki, why didn’t anyone tell me?There are a lot of things that I don’t know, but I thought I at least knew what a kiss was.”

“What could they have told you Marinette?How could you really understand until you felt it?”

“But that’s the thing, Tikki.I could have gone years without knowing.I could have gone my whole life.I can still feel her softness.And warmth. Tikki, her lips were so warm.”

“Are you going to look for her, Marinette?”

“I don’t even know where to start, Tikki.”

Marinette poked her laptop back to life.Maybe there was something near that rooftop that would give her a clue.She was about to call up a map when she received a notification from a messaging app.“Tikki, I’m pretty sure that I’ve never installed this app in my life.” The notification repeated and then redrew itself to form the words

_Marinette,_

_this is not a virus.Honest._

“It looks like someone is trying very hard to get in touch with you, Marinette!”

“I see that, Tikki.”Marinette directed a breath of air up toward her bangs.“I guess if this is trouble, the damage has already been done.”Mentally crossing her fingers, she opened the message. 

_M.,_

_It is imperative that we speak.We are working toward a common goal, and while we lack our particular resources, we have information that you lack.We will drop a pin near you.Please meet with us in whatever form you choose.We will provide further guarantees of your safety when you arrive._

“Seriously?Step into my parlor….”

“You could go as Ladybug?You could bring Chat Noir or Queen Bee with you?”

“I could.The timing of this makes me wonder if it has something to do with my friend from last night.What do you make of this part, Tikki:‘we lack your particular resources,’or ‘whatever form I choose?’Tikki, do they know?”

“They might, Marinette.”

“If that is true, then it sounds like they might also know something about Hawkmoth.Tikki, I think I have to go to this meeting.”

“Are you going to go alone?Do you think you can trust them?”

“I hope so.But just in case, I need to make a call.”

——————

Marinette didn’t need to check her phone to know when she was close to her destination.Her hosts had picked an old theater that had been closed for renovations for over a year.It was a matter of time before it was pulled down and replaced by something taller and shinier.She walked past the front entrance and ducked down the tight alley to the service entrance, which creaked open to her hand. _Here we go._ She knew one thing.If they had something nasty planned, they had better pull it off fast, or their day would sour quickly.She stepped down the dark hallway and walked toward the old concession area.

“Hi again!”not-Chat stepped out of the shadows.“I’m your assurance of safety for the meeting.I think that is a nice way of saying ‘hostage.’To be honest, I’m surprised to see you instead of Ladybug.”

Marinette looked at not-Chat.“I’m not sure if you and I are on speaking terms right now.”

Not-Chat sighed.“That is fair.I meant what I said, though.And I meant every second of that kiss.”

Marinette didn’t know what to say.The best that she could manage was a small nod.”

“Come along, then.We are set up in theater #3.It was the least disgusting.”

Marinette followed behind, willing her eyes away from the girl in front of her but failing. _I could watch those long legs all day._

“Here, sit at this card table.The theater seats are disgusting.And it is going to be just the two of us here.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about the big screen.Everything will be on this tablet.No one should be in this place, but we are trying to be discrete.”Not-Chat tapped an icon and handed the tablet to Marinette.

_Greetings._

The voice was female, soothing, and clearly artificial.

_We are The Mundane.We have watched you fight Hawkmoth for years, and we have watched you fail.We are here to help._

Marinette watched, eyes widening as the tablet displayed the map of Paris, colored lines tracing outward from her block and from her schools to the popular battle zones.

_If you still wonder how much we know about you, be assured that we know quite a bit._

More colored lines flowed from Agreste Manor.

_We’ve recorded all of your sightings and all of the footage of your arrivals and departures.If you are wondering if anyone else could replicate our findings, you should know that they could.Hawkmoth could.But we feel the likelihood of this happening remains low for now.We do not mean to frighten you.But your window of opportunity to catch Hawkmoth will close before too long._

Marinette broke her silence.“I don’t suppose you have one of these nice maps for Hawkmoth or Mayura, do you?

_We do not.Sightings have been too few.We have some guesses, but until we gather more information, that is all that we have._

“That is what I was doing on the rooftops,” said not-Chat.“I was planting surveillance devices and investigating some of the higher probability targets.Maybe one of those targets will pay off.But if nothing else, there are fewer and fewer places that Hawkmoth can go without us tracking him back to his base.”

“You are making my head hurt.Why do you think that you can just take the law into your own hands?”

_Is anything we do that much different than what you have done for the past four years?True, we do not have the power of Gods at our disposal, but we fight the same war._

Marinette twisted a strand of hair around her finger as she thought.“And now my head hurts even more.What exactly are you proposing?”

_I propose that we start working more closely together.We lack the ability to confront Hawkmoth while you do not.You lack information.We can provide it.We are hoping that you might work work with our feline friend.We also propose that you more carefully mask your paths across the city before the next person asks the right questions and looks at the right data._

Marinette thought in silence, slowly coming to the realization that her hand was forced.“OK.Let’s try this.But no more breaking and entering.I won’t pretend that we can improve on your sensor network, but if you need a location checked out physically, leave that to my team.”

The laptop clicked loudly and went dark.

“Consider it a done deal,” said not-Chat.If there is anything else to sort out, you and I can work it out.We should probably talk through everything in detail as soon as possible.Maybe over coffee?Are you free right now?”

“I can be free right now.You have me at a disadvantage, though.I don’t even know your name.”

“You will in a minute.For now, I need to get into my civilian clothes before we leave this place.Um.Are you shy?Because I’m not really wearing much under this.”

“I’m not particularly shy.”

“OK, good.Can you help me with this top?It is super tight, and it is a pain to get off.”Not-Chat took off her hat and struggled to pull her top over her head.

“Here, hold still. I’ll help.Ah! You said ’not much’ not ‘nothing!’”

Not-Chat laughed.“Sorry.I should have been more clear.Originally, I wore body armor under all of this.Then, on my first outing, I nearly got stuck in a duct.After that, I went for a minimal approach.”

“Minimal and restrictive,” said Marinette quietly.

Not-Chat looked down at her body.“There is running involved.And, yeah, tight ductwork is a thing. I can’t tell you how good it feels to get that top off.Um, you don’t have any plans to make me run, do you?”

Marinette, still a little stunned, said,“Running? No.No running planned.”

Not-Chat smiled and pulled a camisole and hoodie out of her backpack.“That means that I get to breathe for a while.Hey, are you OK?”

“I really don’t have the first idea anymore.Um.I like your piercings?”

“Thanks!I spent a summer in San Francisco, so I didn’t have to wait.”

Soon, not-Chat was just a regular girl in jeans and a hoodie.And mask.

Marinette gestured toward not-Chat’s head.“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Not forgetting.Just nervous.”

“You literally just stripped naked in front of me, but you are nervous about the mask?”

Not-Chat laughed.“I’m an aerialist.I perform with an old school burlesque group for fun.Naked is easy.”

“But the mask?”

“I’m afraid that once you see who I really am instead of just some girl in a suit, my hopes of kissing you again will die.”

Marinette laughed.“I may know a thing or two about that.In fact, that might have had something to do with why I am mad at you.Nevermind that you kissed me senseless so that you could escape—“

“I told you, that wasn’t why I kissed you.”

“But you don’t even know me!You only know the girl in the suit.”

“That— is not entirely true.”

“Wait. What!?”

And then not-Chat pulled off her mask.


End file.
